Wednesday, May 14, 2014

CAMI lawsuits settled

The lawsuits CAMI International Poultry Inc. of Welland filed when it was left short of chicken to meet demand for Hong Kong dressed chicken (feet and heads left on) have been settled out of court.

The terms of the settlements are confidential, according to lawyers for CAMI and the company’s current owner, Joseph Wong.

Former principal Jimmie Lee sold to Wong, who was his silent partner in the business.

There are indications, gathered from two independent sources who asked not to be quoted, that members of the Association of Ontario Chicken Producers have provided enough plant supply quota to prompt CAMI to drop its lawsuits.

One lawsuit challenged the ban on trading live chicken between Ontario and Quebec. That means the chicken industry avoids a challenge based on an agreement premiers reached several years ago on freedom for internal trade.

According to a court decision posted on the internet, CAMI was unable to furnish a copy of that agreement on internal trade, so the judge said it either had to produce the document or lose the case.
It’s not clear whether CAMI ever did find and furnish the document.

The other lawsuit sought to upset an agreement reached by the federal trade department and the Chicken Farmers of Canada, the national agency for supply management.

Under that agreement, when a company files an application for a supplementary import permit, the federal trade department asks the national chicken agency if it can find Canadian-produced chicken to meet the applicant’s requirements.

Under that system, the federal trade department has been accepting any live or processed chicken that could meet market demand.

Lee argued that plain-vanilla chicken would not satisfy his market demand because he needed to have birds with feet and heads left on.


That issue also remains unresolved because that lawsuit has been dropped.